Sunday, December 29, 2002
relaxation rules
I spent a lot of time yesterday doing errands, the laundry, and cleaning the house, so I spent my evening drawing and watching Minority Report. Not bad at all, though the scene by the pool, I had to leave the room (I thought there was going to be a drowning, and I Can't. Watch. That.). I could have sworn that Agatha was Martha Plimpton. I guess I'll check out imdb later and see if I missed her name (at home, on dialup. Slow. Sucketh.)
For Christmas Andra bought me the super deluxe 4 disk Fellowship of the Rings (as opposed to the super jumbo doubly bitchin' one that has 5 disks), so now I have a free ticket to The Two Towers. It expires the 31st. So I may be going to the movies today. Woe is me.
From the comments of the last post, pasted here because it was blowing the margins of the comment box, from Jerry (yay Jerry!):
Also, for general info I made a magazine cover but haven't gotten a translation yet. I hope I don't sound TOO stupid. :)
Friday, December 27, 2002
new library pics
Here are a few pics I took of the new library yesterday on opening day. They are each about 60K:
It's so exciting.
Tuesday, December 24, 2002
Happy Holidays! (~60K)
Monday, December 23, 2002
feels like waking in the middle of the night
When I left this morning the sky was dark and very clear. The stars seemed extra bright and it seemed I could see every crater and crevice on the moon. I must have looked strange standing there, staring up into the sky like I was waiting for the mothership... not that there was anyone out and about at 6:20 this morning. Today, it is still fairly clear and sunny, but I bet it's still pretty cold. Cold sunny winter days are not something I grew up with. One would think after 6 years in Oregon, I would be used to them by now (well, when it's not raining). Okay, two and a half in California before this were sunny-ish winters but not at all what I would term 'cold' by western New York standards.
Days will start getting longer bit by bit, and I am thankful for that. Knowing that the sunlight is returning feels like a slow wakening of the senses out of a wintery somnambulism.
Weekend was pleasant though too short, and I slept too little. But I am closer to being ready for the holiday, and this is good.
Saturday, December 21, 2002
dark time now ending
Happy Winter Solstice, everyone!
(Hm, guess I better make a new background image. :) )
Friday, December 20, 2002
mistakes are sometimes a good thing
Long story short: the crap I had to deal with at the end of last month (vaguely referred to on November 21st)... looks like due to a technical error, I get to do a "do over". Since I have a lawyer now? (And a fairly sharp, cool lady at that?) Heh heh. Look out. I may just be victorious.
Thursday, December 19, 2002
I feel (slightly) better
After talking to my mom, when I discovered she's only just mailing her cards today. Must run in the family.
Don't know if it can be attrributed to the stress of life lately, but I feel really forgetful lately. Two out of three things I've been looking for, I can't find. The other was where it belonged, but I just didn't see it. I can't keep any details straight these days. I think I'm just overworked but with two grandparents having suffered mental incapacities before their deaths, it worries me a bit.
Wednesday, December 18, 2002
aiiiiieeee
Long story short: not prepared for holidays. I've been so busy and so damn broke, and I feel terrible, and guilty, because I love to buy gifts for people. Cards aren't expensive and I used to have a very long and thorough card list and I feel bad about that too. Allegedly, I'm an artsy person and I should be making presents for people but with what time...?
I have wonderful memories of Christmas as a child, and part of me misses the continuity of that into adulthood. The traditions we have now are very nice, make no mistake... but at this time of year I become acutely aware of how far away my family is.
Monday, December 16, 2002
forecast: stupid
It was all kinds of stupid out there this weekend. I have a theory: that all the smart people are doing the majority of their shopping online, leaving me to face the idiots out there when I go to pick up a half-gallon of milk.
Note to teenage mother waiting in the returns line behind me: it is not acceptable to let your imp roll a giant rubber ball around the floor at the entrance of the store like she owns the place, allowing her generally act in an unsafe manner to herself and others, simply to absolve yourself from the responsibility of having to pay attention to her. There's this thing called birth control for people too stupid to parent (or breathe, for that matter). I suggest you look into this in the future.
Note to dull eyed woman standing with her basket: since I cannot pass through solid matter, I suggest you walk through the exit door and continue walking, and not block the door with your... generous presence. You will not dissolve if the rain hits you, unless your ancestry can be charted back to the land of Oz.
The stupidity continues even today. Heaven help me.
In other news, we did go and see Star Trek: Nemesis this weekend. Rick Berman is still a prick and I feel somewhat dirty for having gone, but with Brannon Braga nowhere near the story concept or writing team, it turned out to be a winner. I feel it was the best TNG movie they've done so far, with the most compelling, sympathetic, and complex villain they've had probably since Khan. Sure, there were some plot holes and continuity errors big enough to pilot the Enterprise through... but hey, Beverly got screen time! And lines! And there was some Uncle Willie goodness in the wedding scene after all, so it's all good.
Thursday, December 12, 2002
it's all clear to me now
Why was I such a zombie yesterday? Well, that would be because we had our highest daily sales total ever (not including special events like New Year's Eve) and most of that I spent working alone. I was so incredibly wiped by the end of the night that I took some of my hard-earned tips and bought us dinner at a local "fresh-Mex" takeout joint. Mmmmm, mango salsa.
I spent the remainder of my evening reading in bed 'til finally switching the light off at about 10am. I'm still sleepy today.
Watching, waiting for the big storm we're allegedly getting. I watched it go from sunny to grey and blustery in the space of about ten minutes earlier. We're holding steady at grey now. This, as you might imagine, does not help the sleepiness factor at all.
Busy weekend ahead of me. Thankfully it's mostly stuff I want to do. What a loverly change of pace!
Wednesday, December 11, 2002
ughhhhh, Pt. 2
I made this sign yesterday when one of the iMacs' system files got corrupted. It could very well apply to me today.
I'm going to be here alone for most of today. My coffee cup is leaking. I have very little to work with for the holidays, and am uninspired to boot. I should make something, seeing as I am ostensibly an artist type... but, see comment about uninspired.
Got a note from a friend I haven't heard from in a while, found out his dad passed away this fall. Wasn't sick or anything. So, I'm feeling a bit mortal.
Feeling like perhaps I should put a bell on the counter: "Wake for service." Zzzzzzzz.
Monday, December 09, 2002
practically a dinosaur
I remember when I got that computer. It was January of 1996 and it was the absolute, top of the line, latest PowerMac, which boasted supreme upgradeability and possibilities for expansion. I did install a Zip drive (now removed), a Jaz drive (also removed), a larger 6 gig hard drive, and a CD-RW (capable of writing at speeds up to 6X, woo!). I even upgraded the daughtercard so it would have a processor faster than 120mHz.
However... the greater the demand that software programs make on the memory and processor, and the more I use my becoming-ancient clamshell iBook, the more it becomes obvious that the 9500 is now Really Old™. Sure, I suppose I could keep cobbling together upgrades, but these things are getting harder and harder to find, and what I can find sure isn't worth the asking price (I mean, that 6 gig hard drive was the largest I could find, and it was almost $200).
Weekend before last, I backed everything off of the larger hard drive, the 6 gig, which has acted weird for some time, anyway. Norton Speed Disk constantly claimed there was a problem with the drive but Disk Doctor could never find anything wrong with it. Lately, it's been making noises a hard drive should not make. I'll probably take it out altogether. I may put the Jaz drive back in and see if I can recover anything at all off of the disk that died. I had my life's work on that disk, which is one of the reason I nuked it and got the CD writer instead.
I took the 17" monitor off of my desk this weekend and set up a little bit of a docking station for the iBook, with the USB hub to hook up the full keyboard and tablet, and kick-ass speakers. Seems I should actually have room to use the computer I use the most. The box is still down on the floor, and in theory I should be able to connect to the 9500 via ethernet, but for some godforsaken reason I can't make them communicate (they have in the past). I'm thinking about selling the 9500 in the hopes to get enough money for a new hard drive for the iBook. It's a 6 gig-er too, rapidly filling fast, and definitely not big enough to install OS X.
Someday: a new screaming dual processor G4 or better, with a flat monitor and DVD burner.
Someday.
Thursday, December 05, 2002
books and books and more books!
I have to remember to get to the library some time before Saturday. Why? Because the library's shutting down.
...but only 'til the end of the month.
Then we get this.
It almost looks like that now. And from what I hear, it's just gorgeous inside, too. A spiral staircase, lots of natural light... It's going to be a library to be proud of, and I am proud of my city for the overwhelming community support in getting the new library built and funded to run. I'm also happy that it's just across the street (kitty-corner) from the cafe's building, the Atrium!
(And besides, if I check out something now, it won't be due 'til after the new library opens!)
I'll be going to an event this weekend (Saturday only, most likely -- oh crap, there's a meeting on Sunday morning *curse*). I also want to go to the library's "Authors and Artists" thing on Saturday night; Eugene resident Jan Eliot (of "Stone Soup" fame) will be there and I adore her. I miss it every year because of this same event, it seems. :( hilarity
Lucius Malfoy: Motivational Speaker. (~100K)
Teen Evil (220K)
From the twisted mind of one of my favourite weirdos.
Wednesday, December 04, 2002
missing the cold, white stuff
I never thought in a million years that I would miss snow. But ya know -- if it's gonna be cold, we might as well get the pretty. Of course, people here can't drive in rain -- I shudder to think how they'd do in snow. Me, I'd be fine. Ya never forget how to drive in the snow. :)
I am already sick to death of Christmas carols and song on the radio. It's only the fourth. I'm in for a world of hurt, I am. Take the "Jingle Bell Rock" and stuff it, already.
Tuesday, December 03, 2002
funny how this theme keeps repeating itself
My dinglebob arrived today, which will allow me to use my wonderful Wacom graphics tablet (which has an ADB [Apple Desktop Bus] connector, the old style keyboard and mouse connector for Macs) with my iBook (which has a USB port). And this is Good because it is DAMN hard to draw on with a fingertip on a trackpad.
Anyway, I was amused by the company's name: Griffin Technology. It's also the animal used for the Principality of the Summits (an SCA thing). And, of course, Mr. Griffin Moss, who has occasion to become star-crossed lovers with Ms. Sabine Strohem in a certain trilogy+ of books.
Monday, December 02, 2002
yes, I'm alive
Just busy dealing with putting out a lot of little fires. That, and enjoying a four day -- well, ok, three and a half day weekend.
From the "Learn From My Mistakes" category: It is a bad idea to pull a couch away from the wall then stand on the back of it, in an attempt to fix plastic over the windows to keep the cold air from seeping in. My left cheekbone met painfully up with the wood between the upper and lower panes, and rattled my brain around in my skull like a pea in a coffee can. Thankfully, I didn't put my face through the glass (I'd've spent what I would have saved in energy costs on medical bills!), didn't have a concussion, and didn't have to attend Thanksgiving dinner with a black eye (hooray for arnica!). It's still a bit tender, almost a week later.
From the "Take My Advice" category, which differs slightly in the above in that it doesn't involve bodily harm: If you plan on watching Gosford Park any time soon, I recommend watching it with closed captioning. Those folks can be awfully hard to understand, especially those with a Scottish brogue, and they don't exactly speak loudly at times.
